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New Chelsea striker Morata to feature against Bayern

SINGAPORE — Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has backed new striker Alvaro Morata to hit the ground running in England as they target the league title for a second straight year and Champions League glory.

Alvaro Morata (centre) seen here training with the Chelsea football team in Singapore ahead of the match with Bayern Munich on Tuesday (July 25). Coach Antonio Conte said the player would have no trouble adapting to the Premier League. Photo: AFP

Alvaro Morata (centre) seen here training with the Chelsea football team in Singapore ahead of the match with Bayern Munich on Tuesday (July 25). Coach Antonio Conte said the player would have no trouble adapting to the Premier League. Photo: AFP

SINGAPORE — Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has backed new striker Alvaro Morata to hit the ground running in England as they target the league title for a second straight year and Champions League glory.

The 24-year-old completed his £58 million (S$103 million) transfer — which could rise to £70m (S$124 million) — from Real Madrid last Friday (July 21) and is expected to fill the shoes of Diego Costa, who has fallen out with Conte.

Morata has linked up with his new teammates in Singapore ahead of their International Champions Cup (ICC) opener against Bayern Munich on Tuesday and Conte believes the Spaniard will have no trouble adapting to the Premier League.

“Morata is a young player who has a lot experience in his career as he has played with two big teams, Real Madrid and Juventus,” the Italian said in the pre-match press conference on Monday at the National Stadium.

“He has played different (types of) games in the Champions League and he also won the last Champions League, so he can have a good impact in the Premier League.

“For sure, the La Liga is a different league. If you compare the Premier League with other countries, for me this league is very tough, physically it’s strong, but Morata is ready to have a good impact in the Premier League.”

Morata, who scored 20 times in 43 appearances for Real Madrid last season, was also praised by Bayern manager Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian was in charge of the Spanish giants from 2013 to 2015, where Morata played under him for the first year before being shipped out on loan to Juventus for the second.

“Morata is a fantastic striker, he’s young and I think Chelsea have a really good signing,” Ancelotti said at the conference.

“He’s a player that can help the team be better, he’s a complete striker who can play in different positions. In my time in Real, he played central striker sometimes, sometimes on the side … he’s a really good signing and works a lot for the team also.”

Morata will get the opportunity to remind Ancelotti of his abilities today as Conte confirmed that the striker will play a part in the match, albeit off the bench.

“He will start to work strongly today in training,” Conte said. “For sure, I want to give him an opportunity play a part of the game against Bayern Munich.”

The Blues were put through an hour-long open training session in front of around 300 fans later in the evening and Conte hopes their supporters will show up in force tonight.

“In modern football, to have this type of pre-season is normal,” he said of the increasing number of teams that travel to Asia and other parts of the world.

“We had 10 days in Cobham (Chelsea’s training ground in London), then we went to China and (now) Singapore. It’s a bit tough but for sure, it’s great to play here and also … there was a fantastic atmosphere in China, there were many fans with our shirts.

“To see this passion is great and I hope to see the same in Singapore.”

 

*Visit www.internationalchampionscup.sg for more information.

Enhanced entry screening measures will be in place, visit http://www.sportshub.com.sg/eDMLibrary/ICC-2017/ICC2017-EventGuide-1.html to find out more.

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